


Connected

by QuietCatastrophe



Series: United [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU where Cedric lives, Fluff, Just a little bit of Angst, M/M, Set in OOTP
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-29 23:09:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21418186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuietCatastrophe/pseuds/QuietCatastrophe
Summary: The sequel to my first fic, Together.After the craziness of his fourth year, Harry is more than ready to just have a relaxed year with his friends. Of course, things don't go according to plan and he can't even make it through the summer without things spiralling.
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Harry Potter
Series: United [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1417477
Comments: 12
Kudos: 104





	Connected

**Author's Note:**

> I've finally returned! Thank you to everyone who waited so patiently for part two. I received so many amazing comments and more kudos than I ever hoped for. I hope you guys like this story as much as you liked the first!

Ron and Hermione were hiding something. That was the only think Harry was sure of, these days. While he expected a lack of anything valuable from muggle news and even somewhat from the Daily Prophet, the complete secrecy from his two best friends was unexpected and unappreciated. Frankly, being kept out of the loop was making him antsy and annoyed. There hadn't even been mention of when he could go see them. Were they having fun at The Burrow without him? The thought made him angry enough to disregard their birthday wishes and gifts. The only reason anyone even knew about Voldemort's return was because Harry had nearly been killed by him, yet they still didn't think he could handle himself.

The only person keeping him from blowing a fuse was Cedric. They exchanged letters as often as the owls could take them, and while his boyfriend couldn't offer the information that Harry desperately craved the older teen at least always made time to tell Harry about his day. He'd received a small assortment of sweets and one of Cedric quill-roses, the latter of which Harry was especially fond of. It was a transfiguration that Cedric had made up just for him, reminding the Gryffindor of all the fond memories from the past year.

It was these memories, coupled with the occasional thought of his godfather, that occupied Harry's mind during his walk to the play park. Every fight with the Dursley's or dismissive letter from his friends made Harry's frustration grow and he didn't know how much longer he could talk himself down before exploding, even with Cedric's affection and Sirius' somewhat-helpful-but-mostly-annoying warnings. 

Harry made his way to the one unbroken swing, sitting down and idly swaying as his mind drifted back to his reoccurring nightmare. It wasn't quite as frequent as it had been at the beginning of summer, but it was often enough to always stay fresh in his mind. He was back in the graveyard, just like at the end of the tournament, except Cedric had grabbed the cup with him like they agreed and had been brought along. Before Harry can get his bearings, Cedric is killed before him. The way he falls, the lifelessness in his eyes.. Harry still can't get it out of his mind. He didn't dare mention his nightmares to the Durselys because he had been expressly forbidden from even mentioning his boyfriend, and he didn't want to tell Cedric himself because he felt rather silly about getting so worked up over something that never happened. To add to his lack of a good night's sleep, even when he didn't have his nightmare about Cedric he had a completely different one about winding corridors and dead ends.

By the time Harry finished thinking about nightmares and being left out he was angry and upset, and night had fallen around him. His attention was grabbed by voices carried across on the wind, and when he looked to their source he saw a cluster of figures that he quickly recognized as Dudley and his gang. Part of him wished that they would notice him and start a fight, he would love an excuse to take his anger out on them. Instead, they turned to head down Magnolia Road. Harry knew he had to be home before Dudley, so he begrudgingly rose up off the swing and stretched a bit before heading to the park gate.

He made sure to stay far enough behind the gang to fly under their radar, leaning against a tree as they made their goodbyes and parted ways. Once the others were out of sight, Harry quickened his pace to catch up with his cousin. He didn't feel bad in the slightest about taunting Dudley to release some of his pent-up frustrations, satisfied to see how furious he was able to make the bigger teen. Dudley, however, seemed to have some ammunition of his own.

"You aren't so brave when you're sleeping, are you? Not nearly as tough. Like a scared little baby." Dudley's voice took on a sickly coo at the last word.

"What are you talking about? What's there to be scared of, my pillow?"

"I heard you last night, and all those other times too." Dudley smirked while Harry felt his stomach lurch and sink. "Whimpering and whining, moaning on and on about your little _boyfriend_. 'Oh, don't kill him, don't kill Cedric, please! Mum, dad, help, he's killed Cedric!'"

"You leave his name out of your mouth! Shut up, I'm warning you!"

"Cedric's turned turned you into even more of an airy-fairy little- get that thing away from me!" 

Harry had had enough. Fourteen years of hatred at Dudley combined with his anger towards his friends made white-hot fury course through his veins. What he wouldn't give to jinx his oafish cousin until he could barely crawl.

"Don't you ever talk about him again. Do you understand?" He poked Dudley in the sternum with the tip of his wand, teeth bared in a snarl. 

"Don't point that thing at me!"

"_Do you understand?_"

Before Dudley could respond, he gave a shuddering gasp and shivered. The night turned from calm and cool to a sharp, cold, smothering darkness. Harry's first thought is that he accidentally did magic, but his senses came back to him and he realized that he didn't have enough power to get rid of the stars. Dudley started to whine and panic, but Harry was too busy focusing to pay him much mind. 

"Dudley, shut up, I'm trying to listen for-" He stopped mid-sentence, an icy dread sinking into his bones. 

Dementors were in Little Whinging.


End file.
